Dosing N and Phos in a relatively new build

[Overbrook]

I’ve absorbed a lot of fantastic advice on the forum and have mostly come to the conclusion that I’d like to dose Nitrate and Phosphate to get them above zero. I’m having some relatively mild issues with diatoms (just on the sand) but am interested in avoiding any other issues that low nutrients might bring. Phos (Hanna ULR) has never been above 0.02 and is lately 0 or 0.01. Nitrate (Red Sea) was 4 a month ago but a large WC and a few ill-advised No-POX doses in early April has it essentially 0.

My targets are 0.08 phos and 1 nitrate (in line with Red Sea Reef Care Mixed).

My pause is that the tank is going as well as I could have hoped to this point. The green birdsnest has noticeable new growth every day and a new acropora frag is encrusting. I’m I crazy to dose?

32G biocube (Steve’s LEDs, 1 MP10, Tunze 9001, chemipure blue, carbon)
Water/Rock/Shallow sand - 1/5/20
Dr. Tim’s fishless cycle 2/1/20 - 3/15/20 (dosed a few times to be sure)
Fish: 2 small ocellaris
Corals
- acropora frag (encrusting) - 10 days in tank
- green birdsnest - significant new growth - 40 days in tank (pictures below)
- acan frag - not growing much but doing fine and will eat mysis - 40 days in tank
Alk 10.2
Ca 450
Mag 1350
Salinity 34

I feed with mysis 2x/week, Reef Energy 2x/week, and New Life Spectrum pellets 2x/day. Increased feeding does not seem to pump the numbers.

I’d dose very gently using the calculator here: http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/calculator.htm using Loudwolf Sodium Nitrate and Dibasic Sodium Phosphate

I’ve read a good bit on this on the forum but usually, the advice is in the setting of a significant algae problem which I don’t (yet) have and/or in tanks that are a bit older so I couldn’t help starting a new post. Thanks for your thoughts.

Bird on purchase:

Today (40 days later)

 

[Neoalchemist]

I would definitely dose. Trying to use food to increase no3 and po4 just adds organic carbon to be broken down over a long period of time and utilised by pest algea later on down the road.
Healthy/expected po4 and no3 levels will help build a stable bio fauna targeted to process those levels.
At some point later on the tanks biomass will catch up and you will no longer have to dose. If there is a mass of organic carbon, slowly breaking down accumulated food, you will likely swing far the other way and suffer a battle with high nutrients later.
Think about adding another fish.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Feeding more is certainly easiest and it would be my first step.

Dosing is fine, just takes more effort.